Portrayals of Teenagers in Media

Evans-Jenkins 1 Teenagers Portrayals in Modern American Television Drama by Jesse Evans-Jenkins Evans-Jenkins 2 Abstract In this paper, I will be taking a look at the television show Pretty Little Liars and will be using Media Logic category of media-centered analysis. I will be more specifically looking at character analyses, relationships, and common themes mentioned throughout the episodes. Then, I will be looking at how the show uses commodification and amplification and reduction through Media Logic. Introduction Before the 1990’s, teenagers in America would sometimes find it difficult to watch television shows on television. When television shows became popular, they were mainly targeted to families and adults. Then, shows were created for children. It took a few decades however for television shows to be created for teenagers that were too old for children shows, but too young to fully understand shows for adults. With the success of Beverly Hills, 90210, the first American Teenage Drama, television networks began to notice the need for a program dedicated to the teenage market. Television shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dawson’s Creek began to appear, and soon enough, there were teen dramas on almost every major cable network. With teenagers tuning in every week to see these shows, many advertisers saw a money making opportunity. If teenagers feel connected to these characters on a television show, they would probably eventually want to do what their doing. Therefore, product placement became a huge part of this genre of television. Additionally, current issues and other topics would be covered in the show. Evans-Jenkins 3 Some people say that these types of shows have a huge influence on how teenagers make their decisions. Others, on the other hand, see these shows as things of fiction and don’t see how they could influence teenagers in their decision making. In this paper, I will be looking at Pretty Little Liars and seeing how much it does, or does not influence teenagers in the modern world. Literature Review Upon researching my topic, I discovered that there have been many studies on how teenagers are portrayed in the media. Looking at different shows from different periods can show how the “stereotypical” teenager has changed over the past few decades. Examples of shows studied include Gossip Girl (2007-2012), One Tree Hill (2003-2012), Charmed (1998-2006), The O.C. (2003-2007), and Beverly Hills 90210 (1990-2000). These shows have became popular with the teenage demographic, and have impacted the lives of teenagers across America. When looking at each of these shows, there are common teenage tendencies that are shown on screen including sex, violence, and body image. In an article by Rebecca Feasey titled. “Why Teen Television?,” the author looks for a reason that adults watch teen dramas for entertainment. She uses the television show Charmed as her artifact. Feasey noted that these shows were also popular with grown adults because this genre “offers an unusual but wholly relevant area of interest and advice for the modern woman.” (Why Teen Television? 8) The plot lines and issues that characters go through in these shows aren’t always issues that only teenagers develop. These shows could be seen as as form of escapism for grown adults and give them a chance to feel young again. Evans-Jenkins 4 Teenage characteristics that Feasey notices in the show are “alienation, anxiety, sex, and friendship.” She also goes on to say that “themes of sisterhood, style, and a strong female identity” are also themes present in the show. These are common characteristics also found in shows such as Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill as seen in “Sexual Representations in Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill: A Textual Analysis” by Pierce and “Gender and Sexual Scripts in Popular US Teen Series: A Study on The Gendered Discourses in One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl” by Van Damme. In Pierce’s article, she notes that there is less sexual content in One Tree Hill compared to Gossip Girl, but it is still present in both shows. One Tree Hill treats sex as being a sacred thing that is special whereas Gossip Girl features hookups and “friends with benefits” relationships. There is never really much talk in shows about self-sex, however. Additionally, there is “little to no conversation concerning sexually transmitted diseases” a problem that is becoming quite a problem in today’s culture. (Pierce 15) In One Tree Hill, the female characters are all seen as being dynamic to the storyline. In Gossip Girl, women were seen in more sexual clothing and were seen as “accessories” to the male. It is also often to hear women called “‘whores, sluts, and bitches’” by both female and male characters. (11-12) This shows that the male is shown as the authority and that the female were degraded to become sexual objects for men’s pleasure. In Van Damme’s article, many similar findings were found. In relationships, “Girls often appear crying over problems… male characters, on the other hand, handle problems on a much more taciturn manner--without emotions.” (Van Damme 83-84) Body image, in television shows, become the bane of the female’s existence. Characters Evans-Jenkins 5 find themselves obsessing over being the best dressed and most popular. Additionally, “boys are portrayed as heroes more often than girls, who are often passive victims that need to be saved.” (89) Sex is often decided by the female in both television shows.Most of the relationships in both of these television shows are also heterosexual. Barbarie discussed in “Television Teen Dramas: How Do They Affect Young People’s Perceptions of Their Own Teen Experience” that teenagers are able to tell that the storylines of teen dramas are highly fictionalized. “The balance of realism versus idealism is present in teen dramas, because if the storylines were strictly realistic, there would be no drama and therefore no reason to watch.” (Barbieri 11) Teenagers enjoy watching these shows because it takes “normal” teenagers lives and adds a dramatic twist to them. There is a lot of suspension of disbelief used in this genre of television. Also in Barbarie’s article, it is noted that teenagers find characters in shows, such as Gilmore Girls (2000-2007) and Gossip Girl, that they can relate to on a personal level. For example, a person surveyed “Rory Gilmore from the Gilmore Girls (was) the most relatable, due to her close relationship with her mother, her studious nature, her love for culture, and her slight naïveté.” (12) They go on to state that the fashion and personality of the characters affected their self-image. This research helps show the point that teen dramas influence teenagers. This could be in either a negative or positive way. Auburn and Grady’s article, titled “Aliens in the Living Room: How TV Shapes Our Understanding of ‘Teens’,” teaches the reader that teenage dramas use the empathetic cognitive stance when drawing the viewer into the television series. This stance “takes the point of view of the person depicted (the subject). It typically leads to a process of identification with the subject, so that the subject becomes a role model for the Evans-Jenkins 6 viewer.” (Auburn & Grady 2) This stance takes longer to achieve, but allows you to develop a psychological bond with the character. This allows for a viewer to sympathize, and become influenced by the characters whether they are a positive or negative role model. Auburn & Grady also list different ways that TV genres create the idea that teenagers are isolated. The first misconception that the shows use is that the teen characters are portrayed as being extraordinary, or super human. This means that teens are idolized on these TV shows because they are shown as being something that we want to be. The next misconception is that teens are never put in positions where they are mentored. In television, adolescent’s relationships with their parents aren’t typically seen as being prominent or even existent. Next, teenagers are incorrectly labeled as being isolated from a larger society. Teens are depicted as being in their own world compared to adults. Teens are depicted as being autonomous, and do not need help in solving their problems. Next teens are shown as leading risky, dangerous lives. In real life, teenagers go through stressful situations, but typically do not face life-or-death situations every week. The final stereotype of a teen in a drama is that they are typically shown as masculine characters. The protagonist is typically a hero or strong in one way or another. They are rarely dependent and are able to take care of themselves. In the next article that I took a look at, “Absent, Ineffectual and Intoxicated Mothers: Representing the maternal in teen television” by Rebecca Feasey, I learned about how mother figures are portrayed in American teenage dramas. Parents, in general, are typically portrayed as “either problematic forces in the life of a teenager or entirely absent from their lived reality. (Feasey 155). Parents are typically being portrayed as Evans-Jenkins 7 being dead, such as Gidget (1965-1966), Dawson’s Creek (1998-2003), Party of Five (1994-2000), and Charmed; separated, as in Smallville (2001-2011) and Roswell High (1999-2002), where the protagonists are adopted because they’re parents aren’t from Earth; abandoned, like in Dawson’s Creek, The O.C., Heartbreak High (1994-1999), and Glee (2009- present); or troubled, shown in Beverly Hills 90210, Popular (1999-2001), The O.C., Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001-present), Veronica Mars (2004-2007), Beyond the Break (2006-2009), and Hellcats (2010).

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